


What's Inside

by memorizingthedigitsofpi (orphan_account)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 10:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/memorizingthedigitsofpi
Summary: Skye and Raina talk in Afterlife, and it turns out they have some things in common after all.ON INDEFINITE HIATUS





	What's Inside

_Long ago, when humans were still young, a star fell from the heavens and blue angels emerged. They had descended with a gift for mankind, a gift of power and wonder that only the truly special would be granted. **We** are special, Raina. We were granted that gift. You must carry on the task that I started and find the key to unlock your power. Find out what you will become. _

* * *

Raina sat in the dark in her private room and tried not to touch her spiny skin. She didn't  _feel_ special. She didn't feel  _powerful_. She felt like a freak. Like god had played some terrible trick on her. She'd spent her entire life chasing the moment when she might change, and now all she wanted was to go back to the way she'd been before. 

She stood up to make some more of the awful tea that seemed to be the only thing she could keep down, and she flinched when she crossed in front of the room's lone mirror. She kept covering it up, but someone always came in and revealed it. These 'Inhumans' were so  _proud_ of what they were - but not of them were like  _her_!

There was a knock on the door and she considered not answering or telling whoever it was to go away. She wanted to be alone. That's all she seemed to want these days. 

But something inside of her made her say, "Come in."

She stayed in the shadows as her visitor entered. 

"Raina?"

Her eyes widened as she saw who it was.  _Skye_. Of course it was Skye. She was at the centre of all of this, it only made sense that she'd be here in Afterlife too. 

"What do you want?"

Raina stayed hidden in the shadows of the room, her hood pulled up for extra insurance. She could see at a glance that Skye hadn't changed. At least not on the surface. She was one of the lucky ones, then. Of course. Just like Jiaying and Lincoln and half of the other Inhumans in the place. They all made her feel that much more like a freak. If  _they_ hadn't changed their appearance, why had she?

"I'm- I'm not really sure." 

Skye was peering into the corner, and Raina withdrew even further. Even though her movements weren't aggressive, she couldn't be sure there wouldn't be retribution for... things that had happened. 

"Maybe come back when you  _are_?" At least her voice hadn't changed. She could still lace it with venom and make the contempt drip off her words. 

Skye looked over her shoulder back towards the door and Raina saw Lincoln there, prodding her to keep on. Great. She had a cheerleader. 

"I thought we could... talk."

Skye sat down awkwardly on the edge of the couch cushion, and Raina took a small bit of pleasure in watching her squirm. She liked knowing she could still have that effect on someone who couldn't see what her face looked like now. 

"What about?" The contempt was still there, but moderated now with curiosity. She couldn't imagine what the two of them could possibly have to talk about. "Just a friendly  _chat_?"

Skye actually smirked at that, bringing a hand up to hide her small burst of laughter. At least she realized how ridiculous this whole situation was. She turned back again to look at Lincoln and waved him off. "We're fine here. I'll come find you later."

"If you're sure?"

"Yeah."

Lincoln looked uncertain as he closed the door and Raina couldn't help thinking good riddance. She was tired of everyone's solicitousness. She wished they'd just let her deal with things in her own way: in the dark with some occasionally murderous thoughts. She also wished she had her ipod with her. Afterlife was filled with nothing but the wind in the trees and the tinkling of chimes and it was doing nothing to improve her mood. 

"Well?" she prompted. 

It was strange, but Skye actually seemed to relax a bit now that they were alone together. She was still tense, but not to the same degree. Perhaps she  _also_ hated the constant surveillance of Afterlife. Privacy was a thing Inhumans didn't care much about, it seemed. 

"This is... messed up." Skye sighed and her hands flopped uselessly in her lap. "I touched a rock and now I cause earthquakes and Coulson had to hide me in a cabin designed for the Hulk, so I ran away and then I woke up here naked and full of needles and I just-" She looked into the corner where Raina was still lurking in the darkness. "I need to talk to someone who doesn't think all of that is  _normal_."

Raina chuckled, although there wasn't a lot of humour there. "Covered in needles?" she repeated dryly. "How about that." Reaching up, she touched her face and shuddered. Then she pulled her hood even further down. 

"Look. I know we've-" Skye hunted for a word and Raina watched with interest to see what she might come up with. "We have a certain  _history_ together."

She grinned. Leave it to a SHIELD agent to say it in the most mild way possible. 

"We definitely have that," she agreed. 

Despite the situation, she actually found herself enjoying the conversation. At least there wasn't any mysticism involved. That's what had gotten her into this situation to begin with. 

Skye chewed her lip and squinted into the corner, rubbing her hands back and forth along her jeans. 

"Was it worth it?"

Raina blinked. Ah. So  _that's_ what this was about. 

"I was four years old the first time my grandmother told me about the falling star and the blue angels and the gifts they'd bestowed on us. She told me about magic and wonders that I could hardly believe. She made it sound so  _incredible_. She made  _me_ feel incredible. Special. Like I was  _chosen_. Like I was going to be something  _amazing_." She felt tears prick her eyes as the memory of how awed she'd felt at the prospect and how hopeful she'd been to somehow gain that extra part of her. 

Her voice hardened as she continued. 

"But she didn't know what I'd become."

With a fire in her heart and a stomach surging with nausea, Raina stepped out of the shadows and threw back her hood. She looked defiantly into Skye's horrified eyes. 

"What do  _you_ think?" she asked bitterly. "Is  _this_ worth it?"

 


End file.
